Apparatus for manufacturing hydrogen.



R. E. BRUNNER.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING HYDROGEN. APPLICATION men MAY 23. 1911.

1 246,867. Patented Nov. 20, 1917.

2 SHEETSSHEET l. K

WITNESS INVENTOR.

R. E. BRUNNER.

APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING HYDROGEN.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23. 1917.

1 346,867. A Patented Nov. 20, 1917. i

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- T t 5 56 c I WITNESS- I INVENTOR.

Bit

RICHARD E. BBUINNER, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLV I APPARATUS FORMANUFACTURING BUGEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 191?.

Application nled may 23, 1917. Serial No. 170,868.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD E; Bnunrrnn, a citizen of the United States,andresiding in the city of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny andState of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Manufacturing Hydrogen, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention consists in new and improved apparatus for the manufactureof hydrogen and carbon from such basic materials, as natural gas, crudepetroleum, garbage grease, &c.

The process for which my apparatus 18 particularly adapted consists infirst subjecting the basic material to a heat of from 1800 to 2300degrees, Fahra, and then passing the resultant gaseous product through aseries of standpipes and subjecting them in their passage to the actionof cold water sprays, allowing the carbon to be deposited on the waterat the bottom of the standpipes and tobe led off through water seals toa depository, while the hydrogen is allowed to pass from the laststandpipe in the series into a gasometer. Tofacilitate the breaking upof. the basic material in the furnace, such material is preferablypreheated before its admission to the furnace. In the case of liquid,semi-solid or solid basic material, the said material is first heatedand then injected in the form of spray or drip into the top of thefurnace and the gaseous product led out of the bottom of the furnace tothe first standpipe.

t dihe apparatus comprises a series or s an pipes connected togetheralternately at top vertical section showing in detail the top of.

one of the standpipes through which the gaseous products pass afterleaving the uses, for instance the standpipe 2 in Eng. 1; Fig. 3is abroken enlarged plan view showing the upper water box in which the gassupply pipe is coiled for heating the gas prior to its admission intothe furnace; Fig. sis an enlarged side elevation of the foot of one ofthe standpipes, such as the standpipe C in Fig. 1, and Fig. is anenlarged vertical section of the gasometer.

The following is a detailed description of the drawings.

A represents a heating furnace, built of brick, and having an internalcheckerwork 1 above the combustion chamber 2, a dome 3 above the checkerwork, and a valved stack 4. 5 are the cleanout openings, or manholesprovided with suitable closures, and 6 are the peep holes also providedwith suitable closures.

7 is a perforated gas discharge pipe located in the bottom of thecombustion chamber 2, and adapted to act either as a gas burner to heatthe furnace, or as a means for supplying gas, as basic material, to theinterior of the furnace to be heated and broken up before its admissionto the standpipes. The member 7 is connected with a gas supply pipe 8provided with a valve 9.

10 represents one or more perforated spray or drip pipes extending downthrough the dome of the furnace and connecting with a pipe 11, providedwith a valve 12 which leads from the bottom of a tank or container B inwhich is placed the supply of crude petroleum, garbage grease, or otherliquid, solid or semi-solid basic material to be introduced into thefurnace. A. heating device, such as the gas burner 13, is provided topreheat the material in the tank and maintain it at the proper conditionof fluidity, and a pressure pipe l ileads into the top of said tank toprovide pressure to force the material up through the pipe 11 into thedischarge pipes 10. The pressure pipe 14 is preferably connected to thedis charge pipe of the gasometer and is pro vided with a valve 15adjacent to the latter.

6, 0, C C C and Q represent a series of vertical standpipes, thestaudpipes C and (1 being connected together at their tops by a pipe ofequal diameter 16; the standpi'pes C and C being connected together attheir bottoms by a similar pipe 17 the stnndpipes C and (3 beingconnected to gethrr at their tops by a similar pipe 18; the standpipes Qand being connected together at their bottoms by a similar pipe 19,

and the standpipes C? and 0 being (lonected together at 20 the tops byalar pipe The bottom of standpipe C is connected with a blow-off pipe 21provided with a valve 22 and also with a pipe 23 provided with a valve24 leading into the gasolneter D. The pipe 23 is preferably of the samediameter as are the standpipes.

The upper portion of the first standpipe C is connected with theinterior of the furnace A above the checkerwork by means of a pipe 25provided with a quickacting, counterbalanced valve 26.

The lower end of the standpipe C is conan air blower E.

A quick opening, counterbalanced valve 35 is interposed between thestandpipe C and the T-member 27.

36 is an open top water box surrounding the valve 26 and through whichthe pipe 25 and the standpipe C extend, while a similar water box 37surrounds the valve 35 and through said box extends the "if-member 27and the standpipe C.

The water box 26 may be kept filled to the overflowing with water bymeans of a pipe 38, provided with a valve 39 and connected to the watersupplypipe h.

The lower water box 37 is supplied by the overflow pipe 40 of the upperwater box. 41 is the overflow pipe of the lower water box connecting tothe drain 42 leading to the carbon deposit vault G.

The gas pipe 8, between its entrance into the furnace and its valve 9extends up into and is coiled within the upper water box for preheatingthe gas when it is'bein'g used as basic material within the furnace.

43 are perforated spray pipes which extend from the water pipe F downthrough the upper ends of each of the standpipes. Said pipes 43 areprovided with valves 44 near their upper ends and stufiing boxes 45 areprovided to prevent the escape of gas at the tops of the standpipesalong the pipes 43. 46 is a pipe leading from a gas tight joint in thebottom of the first stand pipe C and extending up outside of said standpipe and connecting with the overflow pipe 41 of the lower water box atthe proper elevation to provide a water seal for the bottom of saidstandpipe.

The bottom of each of the remaining standpipes is provided with a waterseal formed by a pipe 47 leading from the standpipe, substantially atthe level of the axis of the horizontal connecting pipe which runs tothe adjacent standpipe, and extending up outside of said standpipe tosubstantially the same level where it connects with a second pipe48,.having one end open and elevated and connecting at its other endwith the drain 42.

49 represents a supply pipe connecting the water pipe F with a suitablesource of supply of water under pressure, and it is provided with avalve 50.

The vault G provided with a bottom dlscharge pipe 51 providedwith avalve52 and an overflow pipe 53 connecting to said discharge pipe outside ofsaid valve.

The gasometer is formed by a water tank 54 and an inner gas tank 55floating therein. The pipe 23 extends up outside of the Water tank andthen down into the interior thereof and then up in the interior of thegas tank 55 into a closed top tower 56 extending up from the top of thegas tank. The discharge pipe 58 has its mouth inserted up into a similartower 59 and extends down to the bottom of the water tank and thence upout of the same where it is pro vided with a valve 60. The pressure pipe14 is connected, as explained with the discharge pipe 58 and is providedadjacent to the latter with the valve 15.

The preferred method of operating my apparatus is as follows:

The first step is to heat the furnace, which is accomplished by openingthe valve 9, lighting the gas as it escapes through the perforations ofthe member 7 and then openin the valve 31 and starting the blower E. Thevalve in the stack 4 is also opened for the escape of the products ofcombustion. When the checkerwork of the furnace has reached atemperature of from, say, 1800 to 2300 degrees, and gas is to be used asthe basic material, the valve 9 is now turned until but from twenty-fiveto thirty feet of gas are admitted to the furnace per minute. The bloweris now stopped and the valve 31 closed. The valve in the stack 4 is leftopen until the gas comes out of the same full and strong thus displacingall air from the furnace. Then the stack is closed and valve 26 isopened, thus admitting the furnace products to the standpipes. The valve24 is kept closed and the valve 22 opened, so that all air in thestandpipes is expelled through the pipe 21. When all such air isdisplaced, the valve 22. is closed and the valve 24 opened, and thevalves 44 are also all opened to start the water sprays. The valve 39 isopened at the same time as is the valve 26, to supply the water box 36with water to prevent overheating of the pipe25 and the valve 26.

The gaseous products from the furnace thus pass through the standpipesin alternate directions, being subjected in their passage through saidpipes to the vertical water spray which causes the carbon and impuritiesto be deposited in the water seals in the bottoms of the standpipes andto be ca ried 01f by the currents of Water through the pipes 47 and 48'into the drain 42 and thus to the vault G. As the products pass 'up ordown each of the stand pipes, each time more of the carbon and otherimpurities are segregated from the hydrogen and carried 05 to the drainuntil the pure hydrogen is discharged through the pipe 23 into thegasometer. The gas is discharged into the interior of the tower 56 andmust pass down into the upper part of the tank 55 and up into the othertower 59 before it can leave the gasometer. Thus there is effected auniformity in the product withdrawn from the gasometer and the directpassage of the hydrogen from the inlet pipe 23 to the outlet pipe 58 isprevented. The heat of the pipe 25 and the valve 26 raises thetemperature of the water in the box 86. so that it effects thepreheating of the gas in the pipe 8 before it is admitted to theinterior of the furnace as a basic material, thus greatly facilitatingits breaking up.

Where crude oil, garbage grease or other liquid, semi-solid or solidmaterial is used as a base, after the furnace has been heated, insteadof admitting gas from the gas line after the air has been cut ofl",-thecontents of the tank B, being preheated by burner 13 and being underpressure from the; ipe 14, are discharged as spray or drip the pipes 10-into the upper part of the furnace. The valve 26 is kept closed and thevalve 25 is opened so that the material,

rom I passes down through the checkerwork and is heated and broken up,and the products pass out through the valve into the bottom of thestandpipe C. Otherwise the operation is the same as already described inrelation to natural gas as a basic material. a

The carbonmay be removed by opening the valve 52 and then dried.

The apparatus may be made from standard pipe and elbows purch'asableupon the market, the internal diameter of the pipe and fittings beingregulated in accordance with the plant capacity desired. Thus "the whichthe basic material previously. heated and in gaseous form is passedmeans for maintaining a downwardly directed spray of water: in'saidstandpipes for separation of the carbon and other impurities from thehydrogen, and water sealed devices for floating said im urities off fromthe 'bottoms of said stan pi es, substantially as and for the purposeset orth.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Penna. this 19th -day ofMay, 1917.

RICHARD E. BRUNNER.

